Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material



July 15, 1969 R. J. BEEMER 3,

APPARATUS FOR COILING OR UNCOILING STRIP MATERIAL Filed March 19, 1968 IN VENTOR.

1905.527 .1 BEE/W61? flTTOPA/EYS 3,455,520 APPARATUS FOR COILlNG R UNCOILING STRIP MATERIAL Robert J. Beemer, Bay Village, Ohio, assignor to Lee Wilson Engineering Company, 1110., Cleveland, Ohio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Mar. 19, 1968, Ser. No. 714,219 Int. Cl. 1565b 49/26, 49/28 U.S. Cl. 242-781 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Turntable apparatus for supporting a coil of strip material during the coiling or uncoiling thereof, having two or more concentric independently rotatable vertical axis sections together with coupling or interlocking means whereby the outer sections may be locked to the inner sections for concurrent rotation therewith during the coiling or uncoiling of the outer portion of a large diameter coil.

Background of the invention This invention relates to apparatus for the coiling or uncoiling of strip material and more particularly to apparatus for supporting a strip of metal while it is formed into a large, heavy open coil with the laps spaced apart or, alternatively, for supporting such an open coil of strip metal while it is uncoiled and the strip either recoiled in tight form or carried to a further processing step.

The Lee Wilson and Edwin A. Corns United States Patent No. 3,114,539 discloses a method of and apparatus for annealing strip metal, particularly strip steel, in which a tight wound coil of strip is recoiled on a vertical axis turntable into open coil form with the laps spaced apart by winding the strip into the open coil as the turntable is rotated and the strip fed thereto, a spacer cord or strand being wound in between the laps as they are formed. This spacer strand may or may not be removed for further processing of the open coil depending on the type of strand and other circumstances. This open coil technique has been highly successful in the annealing of strip steel by placing the open coil in a suitable furnace and passing heated atmosphere repeatedly through the spaces between the laps of the coil, thus greatly expediting the annealing operation.

As the open coil annealing or other heat treatment of strip steel has developed the coils being handled have become larger and larger, the open coils having reached an outer diameter as great as approximately 15. Such coils may weigh as much as 75 tons and with the apparatus of the present invention open coils 20' in diameter and weighing over 100 tons may be coiled and uncoiled at high speed. In forming the open coils it is desirable to feed the strip to the coil forming turntable at a constant lineal velocity and, to expedite the coiling operation, this lineal velocity should be as high as may be safely employed in practice.

When the formation of an open coil on a turntable is started the end of the strip is secured to a central mandrel of relatively small diameter (for example 2' or 3' depending on the desired diameter of the center opening in the open coil). To take up strip being fed to such a rotating mandrel at, for example, 2,000 feet per minute lineal speed nited States Patent 0 3,455,520 Patented July 15, 1969 requires a relatively high rpm. of the turntable. As the turntable structure must be strong enough to support the weight of the completed coil and thus must be of heavy and rugged structure, the lineal speed at which strip may be fed to an open coil forming turntable of a given diameter (for example 15') is limited by the maximum rpm. at which the turntable may be rotated without encountering dangerous loads due to the centrifugal force on the turntable structure. This invention is directed to the provision of turntable apparatus on which large diameter coils of heavy strip material may be safely formed while the strip is fed to the coil at a constant high lineal velocity.

Summary of the invention A multiple section turntable structure for the coiling or uncoiling of strip material including a certical axis turntable having two or more concentric independently rotatable sections together with coupling means for interlocking the sections for simultaneous rotation when desired. Suitable means for driving the center section and suitable bearings for independently supporting the several sections of the turntable are also incorporated in the structure.

Among the objects of the invention is the provision of a coil forming or uncoiling turntable to or from which strip may be fed at high, substantially constant, lineal speed without at any time subjecting the turntable structure to dangerous loads due to centrifugal force.

Other objects of the invention are the provisions of a turntable on which coils of strip material of any desired outside diameter may be formed or uncoiled at high lineal velocity throughout the entire coiling or. uncoiling operation, and the provision of means for forming or uncoiling relatively large heavy open coils of strip steel or the like in a short time Without requiring extremely large heavy turntable structures such as would have been required prior to this invention.

In a coil forming operation (and also in an uncoiling operation as previously noted) it is usually desirable to carry out the coiling in a minimum of time. With the multiple section turntable structure of the present invention strip may be fed to a vertical axis turntable at a constant lineal velocity which is limited only by the ability of the relatively small diameter center section of the turntable to withstand the centrifugal force generated by the initial relatively high rate of rotation of the turntable when the forming of the coil is started. As the coil builds up the rate of rotation of the turntable is necessarily decreased, the lineal speed of the strip to the turntable remaining constant. When the coil is built up until its outer diameter equals substantially the outer diameter of the center section of the turntable structure the apparatus is stopped, the next outer most section of the turntable is coupled to the center section for rotation therewith, and rotation resumed. At this time, the rate of rotation of the entire turntable structure will have been reduced, due to the enlargement in the diameter of the coil, to a safe value for the enlarged turntable structure which is formed by the combination of the inner and outer units thereof. The size of the coil may be increased indefinitely by providing additional concentric annular turntable sections, one outside of the other and having suitable supports, and successively coupling these sections to the next inner section when the coil diameter reaches the inner diameter of the new section.

Brief description of the drawings FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partially in section, of a turntable structure embodying the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a plan view, on a reduced scale, of the apparatus for FIGURE 1 showing a strip of metal being fed thereto and a spacer strand being wound in between the adjacent laps to form an open coil.

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary enlarged view of the turntable section coupling means, the adjacent turntable sections being shown in coupled or interconnected condition.

FIGURE 4 is a view similar to FIGURE 3 but illustrating the adjacent turntable sections uncoupled and the coupling device in retracted position.

Description of the illustrated embodiment Referring particularly to FIGURE 1, a vertical axis main center turntable section 1 is rotatably supported by suitable combined radial and thrust bearings 2 and 3 which are mounted in the supporting base 4. The lower supporting shaft portion 5 of the center section 1 carries a bevel gear 6 which engages the bevel gear 7 carried on the shaft 8 of the drive motor 9. It will be understood that the drive mechanism illustrated for the center turntable section 1 is more or less schematic and that any suitable driving connection may be made between the motor 9 and the turntable shaft. As the rate of feed of the strip to, or of withdrawal of the strip from, the turntable is maintained substantially constant, as by the feed rolls R and R, it is necessary that the speed of rotation of the center turntable section 1 be accurately variable through a considerable range in order that the peripheral speed of the coil be the same as the lineal strip speed. Accordingly motor speed regulating means of any suitable type, preferably which will reduce the speed of turntable rotation at the proper rate as the diameter of the coil increases, is indicated at 10, the electrical connections from the speed controller 10 to the motor 9 being provided by wires 11 and 12.

The center turntable section 1 has a coil supporting surface 1a and includes a mandrel 13 extending upwardly from the center of surface 1a and adapted to receive and grip the end of the strip to be wound, as in the slot 14. This mandrel is of a diameter to provide the desired center opening in the coil which is to be formed on the turntable and preferably is made removable so that mandrels of different diameters may be used as required.

The outer periphery of the center turntable section is indicated at 15 and immediately adjacent this pheriphery is the annular outer turntable section 16. This outer section is mounted on an annular ball bearing 17 for rotation concentrically with and independently of the center section 1. The upper race 17 of bearing 17 supports the outer turntable section 16 and the lower race 17" is mounted on an annular base structure 18. The races 17' and 17" are suitably grooved to receive the bearing balls 17" and give the desired support against both radial and thrust loads which may be imposed upon the annular outer section 16 during operation of the apparatus. The upper coil supporting surface 16a of outer section 16 forms an extension of upper coil supporting surface 1a of center section 1.

From the above description it will be observed that the center turntable section 1 and the outer turntable section 16 are supported independently of each other but have coplanar adjacent coil supporting surfaces. Only sufiicient clearance is provided between these surfaces of the turntable sections to permit free relative rotation thereof. Preferably the upper surface of one section overlaps the adjoining section slightly (as seen in FIGURE 1) to eliminate such a gap between the sections as would permit the strip to drop down between the sections and interfere with the coiling operation.

During the formation of a coil on the turntable structure the inner section 1 and the outer section 16 are initially disconnected so that the inner section may rotate Without rotating the outer section. In order to couple the two sections together for simultaneous rotation interlocking means are provided which include a plurality of lock pin or plunger units generally indicated at P.

As seen in FIGURES 1, 3 and 4, each unit P includes a lock pin or plunger 20 having a sliding fit in a bore 21 in the vertical outer flange portion 1' of the inner section 1 and also in the bore 22 in the vertical inner flange portion 16' of the annular outer section 16. The pin or plunger 20 has a shank portion 20' extending to and operated by the solenoid 23. When the plunger 20 is in retracted position as seen in FIGURE 4 it is completely withdrawn from the bore 22 in the outer turntable section 16, and when in advanced or driving position as seen in FIGURES 1 and 3 it extends into the bore 22 in othe outer section 16 and effects driving connection between sections 1 and 16 so that when the inner section 1 is rotated by the motor 9 the outer section 16 will be simultaneously rotated therewith.

A pair of lock pin units P are illustrated, spaced apart but it will be understood that, if desired, additional units may be provided between the turntable sections 1 and 16. Electrical connections to the solenoid 23 as seen at 24 and suitable control means, not shown, are provided for actuating the solenoids 23 to advance or retract the plungers 20.

To facilitate locating the adjacent turntable sections 1 and 16 with the apertures 21 and 22 therein in alignment so that the interlocking operation may be effected, index marks such as the arrows 25 and 26 may be provided on the upper coil supporting surfaces of the turntable sections 1 and 16. These arrows are so located that, when they are aligned, the bores 21 and 22 will also be aligned thus permitting the plungers 20 to move outwardly into interlocking position.

In the operation of the apparatus described above the leading end of the strip to be coiled (the strip being indicated at S on FIGURE 2) is secured to the mandrel 13. In forming an open coil of strip steel this strip would normally come from a tight wound coil supported on an adjacent vertical axis turntable. The lock pin units P are actuated to retract the plungers 20 and disengage the center turntable section 1 from the outer section 16. The motor 9 is then operated to drive the center turntable section 1 and the strip S is fed to the turntable at the desired substantially constant lineal velocity, for example 2,000 feet per minute.

At the beginning of a coiling operation the center turntable section 1 must be rotated at a rate, determined by the diameter of the mandrel 13, such that the strip which is being advanced to the turntable at the rate of 2,000 feet per minute will be wound around the mandrel preferably under slight tension. In forming an open coil a spacer strand or cord 27 from any suitable source of sup ply is wound in between the laps of the coil C as it is built up and, as the strip is fed to the turntable at a substantially constant rate, the rate of rotation of the center turntable section 1 will be continuously reduced as the diameter of the coil grows larger.

When the diameter of the coil reaches approximately the outer periphery 15 of the center section 1 the motor 9 and section 1 are stopped. The center and outer sections 1 and 16 are then indexed so that the bores 21 and 22 thereof are in alignment and the solenoids 23 of the lock pin units P are actuated to move the plungers 20 out into interlocking position as seen in FIGURES 1 and 3. In this position the inner and outer turntable sections 1 and 16 are locked together and, when the motor 9 is again started and operated at a speed which will drive the turntable assembly at a reducing rate such that the peripheral speed of the coil will be the same as the lineal speed of the approaching strip, the outer annular turntable section 16 will rotate with and at the same r.p.m. as the inner section 1. When this interlocking operation is effected and rotation of the turntable is again started the rate of rotation of the center section 1 will already have been reduced very substantially from its initial rate due to the fact that the diameter of the coil on the turntable has been built up while the lineal velocity of the strip fed to the turntable remains constant.

The diameter of the center section 1 is so designed that, at its maximum rate of rotation during the initial winding of the strip on the mandrel 13, the turntable assembly will not be subjected to excessive centrifugal forces, taking into consideration the structural strength designed into the turntable. The outer section 16, being of larger diameter than the inner section 1, would not, if made integral with section 1, be able to withstand the centrifugal forces encountered during the initial winding operation. However, during such initial operation the outer section 16 is stationary and it does not begin to rotate until the coil builds up approximately to the outer periphery of the section 1 at which time the rate of rotation of the turntable has been reduced to a value which is completely safe even for the larger diameter of the outer section 16.

It is contemplated that under some circumstances it may be desirable to provide more than one outer annular turntable section. Such an arrangement is illustrated in phantom lines in FIGURE 1 where the center turntable section is seen as terminating at 30 and the annular outer section 32 starts at 31. This annular section 32 extends from 31 out to the periphery and the annular section 16 forms a second annular outer turntable section immediately radially adjacent the first annular outer section 32. Lock pin units P are provided to effect selective interconnection between the center section 1 and the outer section 32. With such an arrangement the coil is initially wound from a strip moving at constant lineal velocity until it builds up approximately to the line 30 at which time the drive motor is stopped and the lock pin units P are actuated to couple the center turntable section 1 to the outer turntable section 32. At the beginning of the coiling operation the lock pin units P and P are all in their retracted positions so that neither the annular section 32 nor the outer annular section 16 will rotate. When the lock units P have been actuated and the motor 9 restarted only the center section 1 and the first outer section 32 will rotate. At this time the rate of rotation of the turntable will be such that the section 32 will not be subjected to excessive centrifugal force. When the coil reaches the outer periphery of section 32 the unit is again stopped, the lock pin units P are actuated to couple the second outer section'16 to the first outer section 32 and the motor 9 again started and rotation of the three connected sections continued until the coil is built up to the desired diameter on the second outer section 16.

By properly designing and correlating the rate of constant lineal feed of the strip to turntable structure, the diameter of the inner or center turntable section, the number and diameters of the one or more outer annular turntable sections, and the structural strength of these turntable sections in respect to ability to withstand centrifugal stresses, a coil forming apparatus may be produced which will accept strip fed at any designed lineal speed and which will build up a coil to any desired outside diameter, but which will never be subjected to excessive centrifugal forces. Although the above description has been directed primarily to the operation of forming a coil on a turntable it will be understood that the described apparatus is equally useful and advantageous in uncoiling strip from a coil. Thus, in the open coil annealing process after the annealing operation is completed the open coil is removed from the furnace and may either be recoiled into the tight coil form or transported lineally to a further operation such as a temper mill, strip cleaner or the like. When heavy large diameter coils are handled the same problem of excessive speed of rotation in order to maintain the desired lineal uncoiling speed is encountered.

With the described apparatus after such a large coil is placed on the turntable structure of FIGURE 1 the unwinding operation starts with the turntable sections interlocked so that they rotate together. At this time the rate of rotation of the assembly is at the minimum for the given lineal strip speed and no dangerous forces are generated. After the coil has been unwound down to the joint between the turntable sections 1 and 16 the lock pin units P are actuated to disengage the outer section =16 from the inner section 1 and the unwinding rotation is continued with the outer section now remaining sta tionary and thus not subjected to the increased centrifugal forces which would be encountered if it were rotated at the increasingly high rate of rotation which occurs as the coil size diminishes.

The uncoiling operation is the same whether the turntable is made up of a center section and one annular outer section or more than one annular outer section. In the latter case the outer sections are consecutively disconnected as the coil diameter diminishes and thus the desired high lineal speed of the strip may be maintained during the entire uncoiling operation without ever subjecting any part of the turntable structure to undesirable centrifugal forces.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material comprising, a rotatably supported vertical axis center turntable section, means for rotating said center turntable section, means carried by said center turntable section for securing the end of a strip thereto, an annular outer turntable section supported coaxially with and for rotation independently of said center turntable, and releasable means for interconnecting said center and outer turntable sections for simultaneous rotation.

2. Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material as described in claim 1 having a second annular outer turntable section supported coaxially with said center and outer turntable sections immediately radially adjacent to said outer section for rotation independently thereof, and means for selectively interconnecting said outer and second outer turntable sections for simultaneous rotation.

3. Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material comprising, a rotatably supported vertical axis center turntable section having a coil supporting surface, variable speed means for rotating said center turntable section, a mandrel carried by said center turntable section and extending coaxially upwardly from said surface thereof, an annular outer turntable section supported coaxially with, and for rotation independently of, said center turntable, the outer periphery of said center section and the inner periphery of said outer section being closely adjacent to each other and said outer section having a coil supporting surface coplanar with and forming an extension of said coil supporting surface of said center section, and releasable means for connecting said center and outer turntable sections whereby, when connected, said sections rotate together and, when disconnected, said center section may rotate while said outer section remains stationary.

4. Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material as described in claim 3 including a second annular outer turntable section supported coaxially with said center and outer sections immediately radially adjacent to said outer section for rotation independently thereof, and means for selectively interconnecting said outer and second outer turntable sections for simultaneous rotation.

5. Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material as defined in claim 1 including means for feeding strip material to said center turntable section at a substantially constant lineal velocity.

6. Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material as defined in claim 3 including means for feeding strip material to said center turntable section at a substantially constant lineal velocity.

7. Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material as defined in claim 1 including means for withdrawing strip material from said center turntable section at a substantially constant lineal velocity.

8. Apparatus for coiling or uncoiling strip material as defined in claim 3 including means for Withdrawing strip material from said center turntable section at a substantially constant lineal velocity.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS NATHAN L. MINTZ, Primary Examiner 

